Trump Fills the Vacuum

Over the past eight years, a lot of good things happened because of Obama’s economic policies.   But since he choose to remain low key about his achievements and nature abhors a vacuum, the loud mouth showman waiting in the wings is already filling up the empty space and saying, “Look what I’ve done, and I’m not even president yet.”

Besides, is it really possible that a black guy could have done all of that?

And many will choose to believe the showman.

Feeling Like Crap Since 11/9/16?

Inheriting Edith

After finding nothing in the thrillers, mysteries and trashy novels sections, I was just about to leave the store when I chanced upon, “Inheriting Edith,” by Zoe Fishman.  The back cover sounded mildly interesting and since I was desperate for something to read, I took it to the checkout counter.

Turns out it was a quick and uplifting read, delving into Alzheimer’s, suicide, adoption, secrets, relationships between mothers and daughters and a whole lot more.  So, if you woke up on the morning of November 9, 2016, feeling like crap and need a little bit of magic in your life, Inheriting Edith might be just what the shaman ordered.

Money Matters

A Silly Question:

But first, let me explain. I am not a religious kind of guy and haven’t attended Mass in decades. And that is not likely to change. On the other hand, during the past several days, I seem to have noticed a few subtle changes within myself and in the air.

1. Has anyone felt an urge to forgive, hint of joy, or (for lack of a better term), a sense of oneness?  Or maybe, even a whiff of Grace?

The Water Thief: A Likely Future?

Although this book is said to have been around since 2012, Wally first heard of it only a few days ago.  “I skimmed a review online and immediately placed an order.

“Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed, it was self-published and I almost gave it to Goodwill without a second thought.  And no matter my feelings about the author, I’ve never met a self-published novel that I actually liked.  That is, until a few days ago,” he said.

According to Wally, Nicholas Lamar Soutter’s, The Water Thief, is way more than just a good read.  And should corporate manipulation and disinformation, along with citizen apathy, continue on its current path, it’s a promise of things to come.

On a planet where unions have been crushed, education a heresy and corporations in charge, the CEOs, Executive Class and top one percent rule supreme, while the rest of us are literally, left to eat shit and die. 

And that pretty much describes what life might become, in the not too distant future, where everything is privatized and for profit.   It is a place where the sum total of one’s existence is objectively determined by your worth to Human Resources.

There is no right and no wrong.  Criminal behavior is objective and measured by damage to the corporation.  And perception is everything.  Perception is truth!  And whatever you may do, never ever set a bucket out in the rain and attempt to steal the corporation’s water.  “But that,” says Wally, “is a whole other story and well worth a read.”

Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Sucks!

Weird Wally’s Cognitive Dissonance

It’s the day after New Year’s and Wally is still meditating on last year.  For him, it’s been a confusing year.   As a matter of fact it’s been more like total cognitive dissonance and it first started sometime around March of 2012, shortly after the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager by an angry white guy, either civilian or law enforcement.   And although he didn’t realize it at the time, it was only the first of many.

“Up to that point,” he posted on a progressive website, “I had no problem with white people and doubted that would ever change.”  But what Wally seldom considered, until very recently, was the fact that a lot of white people have a problem with him.  And it’s not because he does anything to offend them.  They seem to take offense at the very fact that he lives and breathes and is a citizen of these United States.  “Add a black president to that already explosive situation,” he said, “and you get a lot of heads exploding with rage.”

And now that he’s learned so many white people have a problem with him, Wally is realizing that he now has a problem with white people.  And with the exception of longtime friends and some family members, he has noticed that he has avoided most whites and made neither a new white friend nor acquaintance in the past couple of years.   Worse yet, the few he’d met and seemed to click with, he’d started avoiding.  “Things that were important to me weren’t important to them and they didn’t really want to talk about important shit and the many things we had in common were far overshadowed by the things we didn’t.

“I even started avoiding a few good white friends over this and was surprised to find out how many of them believe that if a cop arrested you, you were doing something wrong.  And if he actually shot you, then you were doing something wrong and threatened the cop’s life.  I know that’s bullshit, but how do I explain to someone else that their opinion is wrong if they’ve never experienced what is normal for me and, can’t even conceive of the possibility in the first damn place.”

With local law enforcement killing an unarmed black teenager or young adult on an average of more than once a week and usually getting away with it, Wally also finds himself avoiding the police, both black and white, even more than he avoids most whites whom he doesn’t know, and a few whom he does.  “So how do I communicate with someone who totally discounts my experiences simply because my experience can never happen to him?”

And like most all people, when confronted with cognitive dissonance, Wally is choosing to decrease his stress by totally avoiding these conflicts of dualities.    And although he knows nothing is resolved by his avoidance, he also knows that even cognitive dissonance is impermanent and that it too shall pass.  “Meanwhile,” he said.  “It is what it is.”

Click here for additional comments which appear in Daily Kos

Democratic Ennui

Although Wally is getting over a cold that knocked him on his ass for several days, he still feels listless.  “It’s like walking through syrup,” he recently told friends over lunch.  But he was not alone.  Others expressed similar feelings of vague dissatisfaction.  No one present, however, could define the vagueness nor cause for the subtle weariness that had overtaken them for the past year or so.

And it wasn’t until Barb, a retired social worker who’d been fingering her iPhone for the past several minutes, loudly exclaimed, “We got ennui, that’s what we got.”

Consisting mostly of retired progressive Democrats, it was only naturel that they figured the root of their malaise lay in their disappointment and neglect by the very people whom they had voted for and counted on to lead the way out of the doom and darkness of the Bush/Cheney Years.

But the path out of political doom and darkness was becoming circular, “and we seem to be heading back in the same direction from which we came,” Wally asserted. 

“Wally, you really need to get a life,” a retired air force sergeant argued.  “It ain’t all about rollbacks of financial and environmental reforms.  You gotta realize that this too shall pass.”

In the end, however, Wally had to admit that the sergeant was right.  But right now, America is in search of its soul.  And for Wally, that means only one thing.   Now that the Christmas commercials are over, the political ones are already on their way and will be here soon.  And things will surely get ugly.

“Sometimes,” he posted to a friend, later that day, “this constant and never changing impermanence really sucks.  You never really know what’s coming next.”

Click here for additional comments appearing on Daily Kos

The Death Panel is Coming!

An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton

FYI:  Wally is still insisting that he is ready for Hillary, but the real question: Is Hillary ready for him and those like him?

Dear Hillary,

I’m a lifelong Democrat, but of late, have been feeling betrayed by my leaders.   The hope and change I was looking for recently got snuffed out with the passage of a budget (CRominbus) through both houses of congress.  And it looks like the high testosterone folks on Wall Street and the financial services sector won again.  Granted, it cost them a lot of money but this upfront investment is what will make their long con work, and the fact that, unless we get a congress or administration both willing and able to stop to it, this is the kind of con that can go on until the end of time.   And although able, neither a Democratic Senate nor President were willing to stop it.

They did, however, express sincere distress and dismay over their decision to do nothing.

Despite it all, I’m pretty happy with what President Obama has accomplished, so far, during his time in office.  Being African-American and all, I really appreciate what he and the Attorney General have done as far as the killing of unarmed black men by police, civil rights, voter suppression and immigration are concerned.  And let’s not forget our recovering economy, unemployment, LGBT rights, a change in relations with Cuba and so much more.

On the other hand, Obama and other Democrats have allowed cuts in programs for the middle class and decreased pensions for workers, while cutting taxes for the top one percent and allowing speculators on Wall Street to continue making dangerous bets without fear of consequences.   If they win they keep all of their nearly tax free profits.  But if their gamble goes south, we cover Wall Street with our FDIC tax money.  Heads, Wall Street wins.  Tails, the rest of us loose.  This is one reason why folks on Wall Street always think of themselves as winners.  Wonder what they think of the rest of us?

And that, dear Hillary is the question.  What do you and your high end donors, think of the rest of us? 

Were you Madam President, would you have been in favor of that piece of crap, so full of special interest riders, the bill had to be edited in secret without anyone knowing its final contents.  What a victory for political transparency.  Would you have sat back and let that bill poison bill float through congress? 

And what about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)?  As I recall, Bill Clinton was total freak for free trade agreements.  Those free market commerce arrangements killed both American unions and jobs.  And instead of less financial regulation, consider holding the top one percent more accountable for what their greedy and destructive behavior wreaks upon the world.

Hillary, I am at a loss.  In so many ways I believe you’d make a great president.  More to the point, I truly believe in you.  You’ve got the experience and won’t make many of the mistakes Obama has made and continues to make.  It took Obama several years to realize how ruthless and deceptive his enemies really are.  Even now, he seems to have trouble believing what he sees.

Meanwhile, you’ll hit the ground running and already knowing how and whom to fight.  Better yet, you’ll be a quick study of foreign and security issues.  Question is, what are you going to do about the rip offs perpetrated by Wall Street, big banks and the continuation of economic inequality?

You, like Obama, seem very much tied to the culture of Wall Street and the financial sector.  And that is my main, if not only, reason to even think about a third party or look at alternative Democratic candidates.  Thus far, I would really like you to be my next president.  But if you’re strongly aligned with the Wall Street culture, then I need to start considering other options.  Where are you on economic inequality?

Please Madam Secretary, talk to us.   Tell us about your vision and let us know who you are.  We already know who Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are.  And now it’s your turn.

Sincerely,

Wally 

For additional comments on this post, go to Daily Kos.

What Would Hillary Do (WWHD)?

https://buelahman.wordpress.com

Wally says that he doesn’t get it.  “They just gave Wall Street a gift that will keep on costing the givers.  And it’ll be like, never have so many done so much for so few, all over again.   Wall Street will throw a party, not invite the rest of us, but leave us with the bill.  Just like in 2008.”

There is a lot wrong with that budget bill that recently passed both houses of congress, but one thing seems certain, with the roll-back of regulations governing derivatives trading on Wall Street, it’ll keep happening until it becomes illegal and someone finally goes to jail.

But to make sure they can keep passing legislation which totally benefit the top one percent, the same unknown person, or persons, also slipped in a little something that increases the cap on political campaign contributions from $32,400 to $777,600 a year.  During a two year cycle, for instance, a single rich person can give up to $1,555,200 or $3,110,400 for couples. 

So that’s how it works.  Rich people buy politicians via political contributions, who then pass legislation which voters don’t like, so that the rich can easier rip off the rest of us.  Once the laws are in place for continued rip offs, the rich then make it possible for them to give more, and the more that rich are able to give, the less relevant the rest of us become.

And both Democrats and Republicans are voting to screw us.  Democrats are saying how they don’t like the new laws but have to vote for them in order to get concessions from the other side.  Republicans, so far, haven't had to say much of anything.  And although Democrats never quite explain what the rest of us got in exchange for their betrayal of us, we all know that we'll eventually pay.

What’s next for Democrats?

Obama didn’t bring the change we were looking for and it’s unlikely that Hillary is even up for it.  According to Wally, “When it comes to Wall Street regulations and campaign contributions, she’ll let the rich people continue writing the rules and the only difference between her administration and a Jeb Bush Administration, for instance, is that Hillary will use K-Y Jelly when slipping it to us.  Shit.  She may even kiss us first.

“Meanwhile, I’m changing my voter registration from Democrat to Independent and if Democratic politicians keep ignoring Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders,” Wally finally concluded, “I’ll be looking around for a third party by the time 2016 rolls around.”

With Liberty and Justice for All?

And if you’re growing up black in America, would that headline be true or false?

Wally will be turning seventy in a few weeks and he is still confused about that part of the Pledge of Allegiance that says, “With liberty and justice for all.”

“I was in the third grade when I first thought about that phrase,” he said.  “Even back then, I knew that it didn’t apply to me.  And it was a very unsettling thing for a third grader to suddenly realize.”

As it turned out, Wally wasn’t the only kid on his block to wonder why such an untrue phrase was included in something as important as the Pledge of Allegiance, and he and his friends talked of it often.   But as third graders, they had no understanding of poetic license and spin.  For them, liberty and justice for all, was either true or it wasn’t.

“The things we remember are probably very different from what most white people remember,” Wally wrote in an email to an old friend.  “Back then, lynching’s and police dog attacks were what we paid attention to.  And now, black kids are probably thinking about being shot by a scared and angry cop.”

Later that same day, Wally found himself discussing the recent police shootings with a white friend from his college days in Minneapolis, “I know what liberty and justice for all, means to me”, he said.  “But what does it mean to you?”

Learn to Think Like a One Percenter

A rising tide lifts all boats, “But,” according to Wally, “if you’re among the very competitive top one percent, the less boats crowding the water, the more enjoyable and expansive your view.

“And fishing will always be fun.”

One percenters have a totally different view of the world than the rest of us.  And while the rising tide theory may make sense to the rest of us, the very wealthy have a different take.  “Not only is more for me better, less for others also works.” 

“I’d laugh in the face of Keynesian Economics,” Wally declared to friends, “and proudly let people know that my boats’ are already afloat and then ask, ‘and I should care about your boat because…?’”   

For toppers, economic inequality is a good thing.   More for them and less for the rest of us means that what they have is worth even more, simply because the rest of us have so much less.   Although things may eventually return to balance, it will be a while before that happens.  Meanwhile, the more inequality there is, the more vulnerable politicians become and more open to immense campaign contributions.  And the more politicians that toppers control, the more the laws, legislation and regulations will go their way.

“These days, were I in the top one percent,” Wally recently told fellow attendees at a Denver Inequality Teach-in, “my job wouldn’t be to create wealth like in the old days.  My job now days would be to snatch as much wealth as I can from people less clever than myself.  And that would mean most everybody else.”

Wally went on to explain to the horrified group how lifting all boats is probably a silly idea to a one percenter.  “Their idea is to keep as many boats as possible stuck in the mud and out of lake,” he said. 

Another attendee, having heard enough of Wally’s craziness, challenged him with, “Good thing you ain’t rich because you’d be a real dick.”

“To be in the top one percent, I’d have to be a sociopath,” Wally shot back.

“Ok.” the other attendee asked calmly, “suppose you actually had to look some of those people you fucked over in the eye.  What would you say to them?”

“Have a nice day and thanks for all the fish.”

Cops, Big Banks, Wall Street and the Rest of Us

So what do cops, big banks and Wall Street have in common?

“All three,” according to Wally, “can get away with most anything and never go to jail.”

Cops are, after all, our last best defense against total breakdown and chaos while big banks and Wall Street are the only things standing between us and total breakdown and chaos.  And because of their special status as our protectors and preservers, we tend to treat them like gods and allow them special favors and dispensations.   “In theory, that might be all well and good,” Wally recently texted to a friend, “but in reality, it is bullshit.”

Because their social roles are so important, we also tend to endow them with a kind of super human sense of wisdom and integrity.   But that is seldom the case.   Specifically, cops are charged with making our lives safe by going after the “bad guys” as they define them.   More often than not, being young and black is enough to make anyone a bad guy.  And, as we all know, bad guys get whatever they deserve.

And it a cop’s job, as they may see it, is to deal out righteous justice to bad guys.  The bankers and Wall Street traders, meanwhile, see their jobs as making a lot of money and to deal out righteous Karma to the rest of us non sociopaths who aren’t clever enough to make it big in the financial services sector.  In other words, they are rich, can hire lobbyist and lawyers and don’t have to give a shit.

“But the point is,” Wally said, during a recent indie TED event in Denver, “as long as the protectors and  preservers are never held accountable for the pain and suffering they cause, there is no reason for them to stop.”

People who have lost homes and savings and ended up declaring bankruptcy know how corrupt that system is.  But believe it or not, a lot of those barely legal and, in some cases, totally illegal financial schemes got started in black neighborhoods right after World War II.  Once perfected, spun and semi legalized, these schemes left the ghettos and are now are now feeding the fat financial and real estate sectors.  

But much like drugs, jazz and rock and roll, a lot of stuff makes it out of the ghetto and into the mainstream.   And since cops are getting away with cold blooded murder of black citizens now, might these unavenged behaviors escape the ghetto and become a scary part of your everyday life?  “It might sound a little crazy,” Wally said at the above mentioned event.  “But in a land where corporations can become people overnight, anything is possible.”

The St. Louis County Grand Jury: Once More with Feeling!

Wally vowed to neither write about nor discuss the St. Louis County Grand Jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson in the cold blooded killing of Michael Brown.  “It’s a waste of time,” he said.  “And if you disagree with me you’re likely to piss me off.”

Emotions are running high and, if truth be told, there is no real objective truth.   After listening to Bob McCulloch, the St. Louis County District Attorney, it was clear that, in his mind, the lack of an indictment is proof of Wilson’s innocence.   A few days later, five members of the Rams, ran onto the stadium with their hands up, as in “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and expressed their opinion of the district attorney’s opinion.  “And although McCulloch has a right to his opinion,” said Wally, “it just goes to show that opinions are like assholes, everybody has one.”

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Then, the local police union, St Louis Police Officers Association (SLPOA), demanded an apology from either the NFL or the Rams.  At some point, someone believed that the Rams had apologized, but the team’s management denied that they ever apologized.

But if a recent post by Think Progress has any truth to it, then the truth may yet be knowable. Or maybe something close.   Seems there is an obscure provision of Missouri Law which might bring some clarity to all the confusion.  According to a recent post on their website:

“There is a provision of Missouri Law — MO Rev Stat § 56.110 — that empowers “the court having criminal jurisdiction” to “appoint some other attorney to prosecute” if the prosecuting attorney “be interested.” (The term “be interested” is an awkward legal way to refer to conflict-of-interest or bias. The statute dates from the turn of the 20th century.) The court with jurisdiction over Darren Wilson’s case is the 21st Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri. That means the power to appoint a special prosecutor is held by Maura McShane, the Presiding Judge of the 21st Circuit.”

The only question now is, Will the Presiding Judge of the 21^st Circuit, appoint a Special Prosecutor and create a real grand jury?  “Or,” Wally asks, “Will she let the bullshit continue?”

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

Did Democrats and MSNBC Drop the Ball?

“I’m an old black man who votes Democrat and watches MSNBC a lot,” Wally recently told friends.  “But were I an old white man, I’d probably vote Republican and watch FOX News.  It’s not that Republicans and Fox news are all that great, but they do talk to America’s darker and most intolerant side.  And they do this by involving their viewers.

“I imagine that people who both hate and fear those of us who aren’t white, love their FOX News as much as I love my MSNBC.   Mostly what Republicans and FOX are doing right now, is ragging on our first black president and they seem to love calling him “incompetent” and insisting that he doesn’t have the same authority as his predecessors.  I don’t know what most white folk think of that kind of talk, but to me it’s obvious.”

Having said that, Wally admits that both Democrats and MSNBC are on a losing streak right now, “And it’s their own damn fault,” he said.  “And I can’t help but wonder if there is a correlation between progressive television’s loss of viewers and the failure Democrats to turn out their base.”

Wally says, both network and party took the easy way out.  When you don’t have a nest of hateful, fearful and angry viewers to depend on, you’ve got to find some relevant issues to stand on and make them interesting enough for people to understand and care about.  Democrats and MSNBC did neither.

Perhaps, if MSNBC did more investigative reporting and a lot less talking head stuff, they might manage to up their ratings.   Meanwhile, FOX News doesn’t have to do much of anything except be able to come as close as possible to using the N-word without actually using it.  “For a lot of older white people watching FOX is pretty much like attending a KKK rally in the privacy and comfort of their living rooms,” a close friend of Wally said.  “And they seem to find it very satisfying.”

Democrats and MSNBC, meanwhile, Instead of appealing to everyday middleclass “voters” who may have lost a home, seen their children’s education suffer, experienced wage stagnation or haveing to pay back high interest student loans, went for the low hanging fruit and pretty much left the big banks and Wall Street alone.

Right now, most everyone is pissed at big banks and Wall Street.  And if some of those corrupt bankers and big money people on Wall Street were actually charged and went to jail for their crimes, instead of paying huge, tax deductible and easily afforded fines, the Dems may have had a better turnout.  And imagine if MSNBC were able to report on the big bank/Wall Street corruption and how the Obama administration was kicking ass and taking names.  We may well be in a different place today.  "And not until the rest of us can deduct our traffic tickets and court imposed fines," said another of Wally's friends, "should J.P. Morgan Chase be able to deduct theirs.

“And while Democrats and MSNBC were telling and showing their base, FOX News and Republicans were involving their base, and that,” says Wally, “makes all the difference in the world.”

Tell me, I’ll forget

Show me, I’ll remember

Involve me, I’ll understand

Post Midterm Blues and Unhealthy Foods

https://www.youtube.com/user/auntyfee

With the midterms done, Wally has no choice but to get back to the life he’d put on pause about seven months ago.  Firstly, he turned off MSNBC and picked up a few paperbacks.  It's also time to finish his fall cleaning, do a little reading and look for new stuff to cook. 

And the gods of synchronicity saw fit to introduce him to Auntie Fee, via Facebook.  A friend had posted it to his newsfeed and he got hooked.  Auntie Fee (aka Felicia A. O’Dell) is like a Martha Stewart for the rest of us.  She has over 45 videos on YouTube, most of which, have gone viral.  When instructing on preparing her raisin sweet treats, for instance, she says, “It’s just something sweet for the fucking kids.”  And while prepping the ingredients for her culinary offerings, she passes along a lot of wisdom during her unscripted small talk.  “Fat people and kids like a lot of cheese,” she said, while preparing a cheap treat containing lots of cheese.

But there’s also a sense of exotic lifestyles which exist, often unseen, right in front of our very eyes.  One of Wally’s favorites, “How to Feed Seven people with just $3.35,” is also a pretty good commentary on society, not so much by what she says, but what she doesn’t say.

So with the midterms over and Blue Team Democrats having gotten their asses handed to them, Wally is looking forward to hanging in the kitchen with his laptop and Auntie Fee.  “I’m gonna try some of her shit,” he recently posted on his Facebook page.  “And look forward to the small pleasures in life since, with the possible exception of immigration, there probably won’t be any big ones for the next couple years.  And with Republicans running congress, learning how to feed 7 people on $3.35 might be a pretty handy skill to have in the near future."

Feeding 7 for $3.35

Sweet Treats for the kids

Income Inequality Means: We Get What We Pay For!

Blue Team Leaders: Listen Up!

It took Wally several days to recover from the dramatic ass-kicking that his blue team took in the midterms.  Initially, he was pissed at the people who didn’t bother to vote.  And the more he thought about it, the more pissed he became.  “I guess it’s an undisputed fact now,” he said.  “Poor folk and progressives don’t give enough of a shit to get up off their asses and vote.”

But as time passed and he got more of a grip on himself, he realized that it wasn’t the voters fault.  “Simply put,” he said, “poor folk and progressives had only two choices last election.  We could have voted either Republican or Republican-lite.”

It only makes sense that Republicans are better at being Republicans than are Democrats.  Somehow, the GOP always end up defining the situation and the Dems always end up buying into whatever the Republicans say is real.    And instead of running on their successes, Team Blue runs from them. 

“Worse yet,” according to Wally, “party leadership either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the people who have close to an unconditional love for their blue team.”  Instead, our politicians go chasing after red team people who will never vote blue.  “As a result,” says Wally, “their friends lose interest and find better things to do then vote.  Why bother?”

But mainly, the Dems need to talk about the banks, Wall Street and hedge funds.  Most every citizen knows that paying a huge tax deductible fine, for cheating Middle America out of billions, just doesn’t cut it.  As long as no one ever goes to jail, there is no reasons for the perpetrators to do anything different.  Most of us already know that, in the end, big banks, Wall Street and hedge funders will somehow end up with our money.  “And while we’re at,” says Wally, “we may as will privatize social security and give what little we have left to them.  Make it a total wash.”